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crack_van2011-10-05 01:13 pm
stars-inthe-sky.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2011-10-05 01:13 pm
Shadow by ennyousai (PG)
Fandom: FIREFLY / DOLLHOUSE
Pairing: None
Length: Three parts, but can be read in one sitting
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ennyousai
Author Website:ennyousai_fic
Why this must be read: Fics that attempt to bring parts of the Whedonverse together--especially Firefly and Buffy--are far from uncommon. But I'm pretty sure you haven't seen too many mergers of the Firefly 'verse with that of Dollhouse--especially one that slots familiar crew members into just the right roles and gives Mal and company a whole new level of aimin' to misbehave. The merged voices are spot-on, and while "Shadow" is an AU within the Firefly 'verse, it's entirely believable that the Dollhouse tech could have been developed there.
River died in an accident one year and four months ago. She'd been on her way home from a dance rehearsal when the hovercar swerved out of control and crashed into her, shattering her body and killing her instantly. The driver fled the scene and was never found. The vehicle itself was unregistered.
Simon had asked to see what was left of her. The hospital director had clasped his shoulder and told him in a soft, sympathetic voice that it was better not to, better for his last memory of her to be of when she was whole. Simon had nodded, pretended to accept his words, but late in the day he'd gone to the morgue only to find that the body had already been cremated.
For his parents, that was the end of it. They were heartbroken by the loss of their brilliant, beautiful daughter, and they refused to listen when Simon told them that she'd been cremated much too quickly; there hadn't even been an autopsy report; corners had been cut. Something was wrong, he told them. Just let it lie, was their answer. Just let us mourn without rubbing salt in the wound.
But Simon couldn't let it go. Nothing added up. The unregistered vehicle, and the way no one could remember seeing the accident. The hasty cremation, and the way the hospital records had a falsified feeling to them. Simon knew which doctors were on shift when, and which divisions everyone worked at, and the report just didn't quite add up. It was good – good enough that everyone told him he was just grieving and couldn't think straight, give it time and he'd get over it – but Simon could tell that something was off. He knew. He couldn't just let it lie, not when his sister was involved.
The hospital wouldn't tell him anything, so he'd gone underground, to the Blackout Zones. It was months before he even got his bearings, and it took even longer for him to get any information whatsoever. At first it was just rumors. There were stories about an underground slave trade, people vanishing and then being used in some sort of medical research project. Some people said it was high-end prostitution, a network far reaching enough to challenge the Companions' Guild. Others said it was genetic engineering. What they all agreed on was that people were being taken for a purpose, and that whoever was behind it had plenty of wealth and influence.
Then he got his first real lead. The picture.
Amelia Van Dryken, that was her name, the current paramour of one of the wealthiest businessmen on Shinon. She was a real beauty, with pale skin, dark hair, and soulful eyes. She was also painfully familiar – her hair might have been in an elaborate hairstyle, and she was dressed in the kind of tight, constricting dresses she's always hated, but Simon knew her. She was River. His sister. Alive.
The second lead was rumors of new brain wave technology that could be used to completely erase a personality, leave someone blank and malleable and ready to be programmed as someone new.
Simon's been called a genius more than once. It was easy to put the pieces together – whoever has River, they're manipulating her, turning her into someone else. But the point is that she's alive; she's alive and Simon's going to find her.
No matter what it takes.
Shadow
Pairing: None
Length: Three parts, but can be read in one sitting
Author on LJ:
ennyousaiAuthor Website:
ennyousai_ficWhy this must be read: Fics that attempt to bring parts of the Whedonverse together--especially Firefly and Buffy--are far from uncommon. But I'm pretty sure you haven't seen too many mergers of the Firefly 'verse with that of Dollhouse--especially one that slots familiar crew members into just the right roles and gives Mal and company a whole new level of aimin' to misbehave. The merged voices are spot-on, and while "Shadow" is an AU within the Firefly 'verse, it's entirely believable that the Dollhouse tech could have been developed there.
River died in an accident one year and four months ago. She'd been on her way home from a dance rehearsal when the hovercar swerved out of control and crashed into her, shattering her body and killing her instantly. The driver fled the scene and was never found. The vehicle itself was unregistered.
Simon had asked to see what was left of her. The hospital director had clasped his shoulder and told him in a soft, sympathetic voice that it was better not to, better for his last memory of her to be of when she was whole. Simon had nodded, pretended to accept his words, but late in the day he'd gone to the morgue only to find that the body had already been cremated.
For his parents, that was the end of it. They were heartbroken by the loss of their brilliant, beautiful daughter, and they refused to listen when Simon told them that she'd been cremated much too quickly; there hadn't even been an autopsy report; corners had been cut. Something was wrong, he told them. Just let it lie, was their answer. Just let us mourn without rubbing salt in the wound.
But Simon couldn't let it go. Nothing added up. The unregistered vehicle, and the way no one could remember seeing the accident. The hasty cremation, and the way the hospital records had a falsified feeling to them. Simon knew which doctors were on shift when, and which divisions everyone worked at, and the report just didn't quite add up. It was good – good enough that everyone told him he was just grieving and couldn't think straight, give it time and he'd get over it – but Simon could tell that something was off. He knew. He couldn't just let it lie, not when his sister was involved.
The hospital wouldn't tell him anything, so he'd gone underground, to the Blackout Zones. It was months before he even got his bearings, and it took even longer for him to get any information whatsoever. At first it was just rumors. There were stories about an underground slave trade, people vanishing and then being used in some sort of medical research project. Some people said it was high-end prostitution, a network far reaching enough to challenge the Companions' Guild. Others said it was genetic engineering. What they all agreed on was that people were being taken for a purpose, and that whoever was behind it had plenty of wealth and influence.
Then he got his first real lead. The picture.
Amelia Van Dryken, that was her name, the current paramour of one of the wealthiest businessmen on Shinon. She was a real beauty, with pale skin, dark hair, and soulful eyes. She was also painfully familiar – her hair might have been in an elaborate hairstyle, and she was dressed in the kind of tight, constricting dresses she's always hated, but Simon knew her. She was River. His sister. Alive.
The second lead was rumors of new brain wave technology that could be used to completely erase a personality, leave someone blank and malleable and ready to be programmed as someone new.
Simon's been called a genius more than once. It was easy to put the pieces together – whoever has River, they're manipulating her, turning her into someone else. But the point is that she's alive; she's alive and Simon's going to find her.
No matter what it takes.
Shadow